Ignorance of Universal Root and Process Reality: The Cause of Financial Meltdown (1/2)
Wong Weng Hon
Introduction
Blue chip economists in U.S and EU have recommended a comprehensive overhaul of the financial system which has been laxly regulated before the crisis. France and German in particular push for a strict global financial regulation and oversight mechanism to be tightened up. Such strict financial regulation mechanism concurs with the knowledge of God or Tao or Emptiness. The contigent conditions of the unity of the process reality of the financial industry should be tightly regulated and strictly overseen so that no toxic contigent conditions are allowed to pose any additional systemic risk. Unregulated and unforeseen systemic risk will develop into systemic crisis . Unchecked system crisis will collapse the entire organic system of the financial industry. The crisis them emerges as a catastrophe. A catastrophe is the complete collapse of the unity of existence or the mould of God or the obstruction of Tao or the violation of Emptiness.
Systemic Crisis
The current global financial crisis is a systemic crisis resulted from unregulated and foreseen systemic risks. Systemic risks easily develop in the spiritual desert of any secular state. In fact, God, Brahman , Buddha or Allah is the most effective human behaviorial Regulator or Overseer abandoned by many secularists. Consequently, the spiritual Overseer is remote from the secularists in the spiritual desert of the modern secular state.
Process philosophically put, the natural flow of the process reality of global economic concrescence has been obstructed by some of the toxic contigent conditions, such as greed of speculators, laxity, and irresponsibility of management staff, and toxic investments by the board previously not regulated and overseen by tightened global regulation and oversight board. It is still not too late to tighten up the screws and to repair the leakages to avert more future systemic risks.
Western Influence
The intimate alliance of financial and economic civilizations between the east and the west for many decades has resulted in the transfer of knowledge economy. The western financial and economic culture has deeply impacted and influenced the business culture and lifestyle of the easterners. Modernists borrow excessively before they earn sufficiently instead of saving sufficiently before they invest prudently. Modern lifestyle is mentally tainted with risky greed of speculation rather than with fear of potential danger of future personal deficit budget. Deficit budget has become a modern culture of rapid economic development which contains the potential systemic risk. The 2008-2009 financial meltdown is a serious warning. For individual, national and global economic security of sustainable development, it is better to move steadily like a tortoise rather than running like a indolent rabbit. The metaphor of the race between a tortoise and a rabbit is a popular Asian maxim embodying a rich philosophy. It advises us to move slowly but steadily rather than doing things in haste. The attitude of a rabbit has the propensity to create a bubble and bust economy.
Too much spending and not enough saving create the potential bubble and bust economy. Such modern financial life is unwise as it is unsustainable. It creates the illusion of economic growth which is actually bubble and bust economy. One looks strong externally but centrally it is dry. This culture of excessive borrowing before earning is rampant in modern economic culture of vigorous stimulation of internal demand of goods and services in modern economic civilization. Fueling internal demand encourages excessive spending rather than encourages saving and investment. The blue-chip U.S economists have identified this ‘look-good’ culture to be main cause of current financial woes. They hit the nail right on its head. Their golden advice should be heeded by all modernists indoctrinated by modern business philosophy of ‘Time is money’ unwisely applied.
The three major causes of global financial meltdown identified by the elite economists are overheated housing market, maxed out credit cards and the sleight of hand in the financial markets. All these three financial cancerous diseases creating the bubble and potential bust economy are also clearly evident in the eastern financial markets. They are toxic contigent conditions of disunity of existence which disfigures the face of God or Tao obliterating the principle of Emptiness.
The eastern consumers, investors and businesses should exercise a greater sense of heedfulness or vigilance of mindfulness before a systemic risk is developed. The bitter experience of the western consumers and business people should serve as a valuable lesson or early warning to their counterparts in the eastern financial institutions and consumers. We ought not to allow greed and laxity to obsesses our minds directed and empowered by self-centric ego. In fact, the Supreme Masters have disclosed that the root of human vexation and anguish is the ignorant superimposition of self-centric ego
TQM
The contigent conditions of the healthy financial markets must be tightly regulated and overseen with the zero defect culture of a comprehensive TQM (Total Quality Management) system. The contigent conditions of the unity of existence of any financial system should be strictly supervised and closely monitored by TQM which has so successfully created the modern icons of economic civilization hitherto. TQM can only be more effectively and successfully implemented if workers, executives and board members are educated rightly with religious precepts, commandments or law.
The implementation of TQM is even more effective if the manpower is sanctified with religious wisdom – the knowledge of the eternal Truth of God or Tao or Emptiness. That the whole world is fundamentally a spiritual desert is worrying because economy and religious Truth are innately inseparable in the context of bipolar reality of phenomena and principle. Phenomena and principle are innately inseparable like milk and water. Any attempt to divorce them creates a systemic risk. Obviously, it poses a potential health risk when one takes only milk without adding water.
Economic Tsunami
Gotama Buddha promulgates that spiritual ignorance is the cause of suffering of Man. Financial woe is a form of hell on earth. Religion wisdom saves us not only from the Hell fire after death. Most significantly, it saves us from the hell fire on earth due to human fallibilities and vulnerabilities rooted in moral flaws. Financial meltdown is hell for those affected victims. It is giant hell fire which scorches countless victims globally. The 2008 -2009 global financial meltdown is indeed a global economic tsunami.
Process-philosophically put, the unity of healthy contigent conditions must be preserved at all costs so that the unity of flow of economic concrescence and accomplishment is not impeded. Excessive speculative activities of greed in the financial markets contribute potentially to the global bubble and bust economy. Bubble economy is merely an illusion of economic growth. It is not real growth. Real economic growth is self-sufficiency in saving which is wisely and prudently invested.
Solution
It is only deontologically ethical that all connected members or parties ought to pull themselves together to fix the financial crisis. Systemic risk can only be overcome by systemic members or parties themselves. The financial industry is a process reality of dynamic process becoming. Every process becoming is the unity of contigent conditions. We are all in the Process Reality of interconnectedness and interdependence. The systemic members or parties concerned are the contigent conditions of process reality of economic concrescence. Adherence to strict government’s regulation and supervision by oversight board prevent greed, laxity and irresponsibility. However, the foremost device to prevent the development of toxic contigent conditions is the knowledge of God or Tao or Emptiness. Such divine knowledge perfects one’s wisdom and virtue.
The wisdom of God or Tao or Emptiness is the unsurpassed and unequal expedient device to confront or address all problems. Religion is the greatest problem solver for mankind. It perfects human wisdom and virtue. No problem or crisis can not be overcome with the application of perfection of wisdom accompanied with consummated virtue. This is what religion can contribute to mankind. I do not dogmatically exert that the fragrance of the flower is good just because I am a florist. The fragrance is real.
Gotama Buddha himself declares that Buddhism (in fact any world’s religion) is the science of logical positivism. The Theory of Logical Positivism states knowledge is only valid if and only if it can be verified empirically by direct sense experience. Gotama Buddha invites us thus , ”Ehipassiko !”. ‘Ehipassiko’ means “Come and verify for yourself !”. The Exalted One further admonishes us not to believe in his teaching until we have personally verified the Truth ourselves. Gotama Buddha is a logical positivist and he expects us to be so too. Likewise , the Truth of God, Tao or Emptiness can be verified empirically through direct empirical experience of Gnosis. The logical positivism of religion is promulgated by Tathāgatas, Prophets and Apostles thus : Whoever knows himself knows the Lord (Truth). A Gnostic knows the Truth face to face.
Ethics
It is also expected by the world that such financial meltdown or clogging of the process reality of global economic concrescence will not recur in the future. The victim nations, especially France and Germany, understand that financial or economic stimulus packages do not suffice to address the current economic woes. They recommend tight regulation strategy. The crucial contigent condition to mitigate and eventually fix the financial meltdown is the sincere and conscientious application of deontological ethics of human duty, responsibility and harmony of association to resurrect the Unity of Existence in the financial markets. In this sense, very strict regulation and oversight are helpful to harmonize and detoxify the contigent conditions before they develop into systemic risks. Theosophically put, the Unity of God or Tao or Emptiness has to be resurrected as the top priority so that the necessary and healthy contigent causes and conditions can be rejuvenated, harmoniously conglomerated and integrated into an unobstructed process reality of the unity flow of the global economic concrescence. In this manner, we can revitalize the global economy mired in grave recession.
Possibility not Dream
Process Reality reveals that all contigent conditions are impermanent and mutable or changeable. Buddhist tenet or process philosophy particularly emphasizes impermanence (anicca) and mutability of all phenomena or apparent multiplicity. The toxic contigent conditions caused by anthropogenic activities can be rectified by responsible behaviorial change. With the current tight and necessary regulations recommended by the best and brightest brains of American and European economists, the resurrection of U.S’s and E.U ‘economies are not dreams. They are possibilities which can be transformed into actualities because growths are the primordial potentialities of God or Buddha-nature existing immanently or innately in all human beings and non-human beings. God or Buddha-nature is immanent and pervasive everywhere. When sufficient contigent conditions are present, it is the intrinsic nature of God or Buddha-nature for man-willed accomplishment to be actualized if Man contributes the right efforts. God or Buddha-nature helps Man if Man helps himself.
If the recent April, 2009 G20 London Summit Communique’ to address global financial crisis are comprehensively implemented, the global economic concrescence will be resurrected because the proposed regulation and oversight mechanism is comprehensive. The Communique is a concensus of economic sutra that can treat the current ailing global economy. The governments not included in G20 ought to capitalize on the economic sutra to avert a similar financial crisis erupting in their nations. The ball is at the foot of every responsible and caring government.
Possible Revival
This hope of economic revival is not mere speculation. It is constructed upon the knowledge of God, Tao or Emptiness. The original unity of existence of contigent condition of global economic concrescence is the intrinsic nature of the ultimate Reality of the empirical world. This is supported by the human dimension of ultimate Reality that the flawed human mind can be tuned for self-rectification through paradigm shift of intrinsic self-awareness generally known as human self-rectification and self-cultivation. The Process Reality of the empirical world rejects fatalistic determinism. Man’s attitude determines the altitude of his life. The bipolar reality of process philosophy unveils that God, Tao or Emptiness plays a complementary role but not a fatalistic role. Man has to exercise his own will, set his own goal and strive for it. The Unity of God or Tao or Emptiness consummates his accomplishment. The unity of Existence can only operate when all the necessary contigent conditions are conglomerated by the law of Dependent Co-arising. The Essence of God or Tao or Emptiness is the natural law of Dependent Co-arising (Pratītyasamutpāda).
Thus, with human will and right efforts supported by the Unity of Existence of God, Tao or Emptiness, the possibility of global economic concrescence can be restored. It is not a dream but a possibility. The only condition to actualize the possibility into actuality of economic resurrection is that all affected nations must pull themselves together to fix the financial crisis. Collective good karmas of the affected economies are necessitated to rejuvenate global economy. Another critical or decisive influencing contigent condition is that both the executives and consumers must behave conscientiously and thus responsibly.
Harmonious Association
If the clientele and the executives in the financial markets have developed the wisdom to discern that everyone is a systemic part of the larger whole or the entire financial system, they will work in co-operative spirit to satisfy the set regulation, and to be transparent to the oversight board. Even without regulation and oversight mechanism, the wise ones can still perform their duties responsibly. A God-conscious, Tao-conscious or Emptiness-conscious mind is the foremost automatic self-regulator or overseer to avert systemic risk developed from toxic contigent conditions of unity of existence of the financial institutions.
The credit in the process reality of the financial industry will then flow unimpededly. Gradually but surely, the financial market transactions will be normalized and revived. Eventually, it will be resurrected to its original state of global economic concrescence. When all the necessary wholesome contigent conditions are harmoniously associated, growth is a possibility that can be actualized into a reality. It is not a bubble and bust economy but a sustainable and solid economy. Knowledge of God, Tao or Emptiness teaches us this eternal Truth that sustains the world of economy. Divine knowledge of process philosophy is universally applicable in all fields. It is not confined to only economy or finance. Religion is learned and practised to avoid pitfalls.
To be continued...
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